Fiction
Quotes - How do I know what I think until I see what I say?
“The
Queen's Pride was his ship, and he loved her. (That was the way his sentences
always went: It is raining today and I love you. My cold is better and I love
you. Say hello to Horse and I love you. Like that.)”
―
William Goldman, The Princess Bride
“How
do I know what I think until I see what I say?”
―
E.M. Forster
“We'd
stared into the face of Death, and Death blinked first. You'd think that would
make us feel brave and invincible. It didn't.”
―
Rick Yancey, The 5th Wave
“And
it's hard to hate someone once you understand them.”
―
Lucy Christopher, Stolen
“While
an elderly man in his mid-eighties looks curiously at a porno site, his
grandson asks him from afar, “‘What are you reading, grandpa?’” “‘It’s history,
my boy.’” “The grandson comes nearer and exclaims, “‘But this is a porno site,
grandpa, naked chicks, sex . . . a lot of sex!’” “‘Well, it’s sex for you, my
son, but for me it’s history,’ the old man says with a sigh.” All of people in
the cabin burst into laughter. “A stale joke, but a cool one,” added William
More, the man who just told the joke. The navigator skillfully guided the
flying disc among the dense orange-yellow blanket of clouds in the upper
atmosphere that they had just entered. Some of the clouds were touched with a
brownish hue at the edges. The rest of the pilots gazed curiously and intently
outwards while taking their seats. The flying saucer descended slowly, the
navigator’s actions exhibiting confidence. He glanced over at the readings on
the monitors below the transparent console: Atmosphere: Dense, 370 miles thick,
98.4% nitrogen, 1.4% methane Temperature on the surface: ‒179°C / ‒290°F Density: 1.88 g/cm³ Gravity: 86% of
Earth’s
Diameter of the cosmic body: 3200 miles / 5150 km.”
―
Todor Bombov, Homo Cosmicus 2: Titan: A Science Fiction Novel
“A
man once asked me ... how I managed in my books to write such natural
conversation between men when they were by themselves. Was I, by any chance, a
member of a large, mixed family with a lot of male friends? I replied that, on
the contrary, I was an only child and had practically never seen or spoken to
any men of my own age till I was about twenty-five. "Well," said the
man, "I shouldn't have expected a woman (meaning me) to have been able to
make it so convincing." I replied that I had coped with this difficult
problem by making my men talk, as far as possible, like ordinary human beings.
This aspect of the matter seemed to surprise the other speaker; he said no
more, but took it away to chew it over. One of these days it may quite likely
occur to him that women, as well as men, when left to themselves, talk very
much like human beings also.”
―
Dorothy L. Sayers, Are Women Human? Penetrating, Sensible and Witty Essays on
the Role of Women in Society
“ “I am running back my tent to get my
sub-machinegun. There are too many Noggies to kill using a pistol!” He then ran
to where his scrape was and returned with the weapon.”
―
Michael G. Kramer
“In
our twenties, when there is still so much time ahead of us, time that seems
ample for a hundred indecisions, for a hundred visions and revisions—we draw a
card, and we must decide right then and there whether to keep that card and
discard the next, or discard the first card and keep the second. And before we
know it, the deck has been played out and the decisions we have just made will
shape our lives for decades to come.”
―
Amor Towles, Rules of Civility
“And
then there are the rare ones who know love, who understand it. Who freely give
of themselves, demanding only a return of that love,that trust.”
―
Kim Harrison, Every Which Way But Dead
“Various
large trees— willowy peppers and especially the pines—seem to be reaching down
to hold your hand.”
―
Tom Hillman, Digging for God
“She's
just one of the plethora of women you rotate through your bed." Lily
looked scared out of her mind as the queen changed direction and stalked her.
"I will not allow you to besmirch the Esca name with your filthy plot to
steal the prince.”
―
Therisa Peimer, Taming Flame
“After
a moment, Wrath turned to John. "This is Lassiter, the fallen angel. One
of the last times he was here on earth, there was a plague in central
Europe-"
"Okay,
that was so not my fault-"
"-which
wiped out two-thirds of the human population."
"I'd
like to remind you that you don't like humans."
"They
smell bad when they're dead."
"All
you mortal types do.”
―
J.R. Ward, Lover Enshrined
“Her
unexpected outburst rocked Flaminius to his core. Suddenly, she didn't seem so
angelic. Her face twisted with rage; veins in her neck throbbed with fury in a
scene all too familiar. Her reaction switched him off to her instantly as all
his worst fears came to life.”
―
Therisa Peimer, Taming Flame
“I'm
so proud of you I could burst, but in the interest of saving the poor cleaning
staff the hassle, I would, instead, like to take you to our room and lick you
from stem to stern until you beg me to stop.”
―
Therisa Peimer, Taming Flame
“Too
pissed off to care, Aurelia interrupted him. "No, I will not wait just one
moment!" Piercing him with her best scary stare, she said, "It
surprises me that no one has pointed out your glaringly obvious agenda, so let
me be the first.”
―
Therisa Peimer, Taming Flame
“Tightening
his embrace around his wife and little Theo, he vowed, "I will do
everything in my power to continue being worthy of the faith you have in me.”
―
Therisa Peimer, Taming Flame
“Why
do you have such faith in me, Aurelia?"
"I've
told you a million times that I love you, you make me feel safe and cherished,
and you care deeply for our people. Why wouldn't I have faith in you?”
―
Therisa Peimer, Taming Flame
“But
this Scroll too has magical properties. From the moment I first saw it, the
paper warmed to my touch. I know it came alive as I held it. Did you know
there’s a serpent on the back? Some say it’s a dragon. It winked at me. Its
lashes are gold.”
―
Susan Rowland, The Alchemy Fire Murder
“The
fire on the mountain.” That was Anna. “Alchemy,” she said. “I feel it singing
in my bones.”
“Singing?”
Mary would never understand Anna. The young woman turned away.
Wiseman’s
reply was tinged with respect.
“That
great pair of alchemists, Francis Ransome and Roberta Le More, believed the
work they did affected the world’s spirit, the anima mundi. The Native
Americans they met believed they too could and should interact with the Great
Spirit. They lived with reverence for the land and all its peoples, the
ancestors, the animals, the rocks, the trees, mountains.”
Mary’s
jaw dropped; Caroline glowed; Anna pretended not to listen. Wiseman nodded,
then continued.
“You
mean…?” began Mary.
“Yes,
it could have been so different, a meeting of like-minded earth-based
spiritualities. Just imagine, what could have been?”
―
Susan Rowland, The Alchemy Fire Murder
“She
stabbed the earth with her big fork as if she could make Cookie Mac’s blood
sprout from it.”
―
Susan Rowland, The Alchemy Fire Murder
“Like
water around rocks, people streamed around them as though this sort of
interaction, noisy and involving foreigners, was nothing unusual.”
―
Sara Pascoe, Being a Witch, and Other Things I Didn't Ask For
“Oscar
looked up from his plate, and if a cat could laugh, he would have. ‘Boy, that’s
ugly, even for a jinn. Looks like a cross between a rat, a frog and a
bottlebrush.”
―
Sara Pascoe, Being a Witch, and Other Things I Didn't Ask For
